A new study of West African Pygmies in Cameroon led by University of Pennsylvania geneticists identifies genes that could reveal why Pygmies are smaller than other neighboring groups, reports Science Codex.
"There's been a longstanding debate about why Pygmies are so short and whether it is an adaptation to living in a tropical environment," said Sarah Tishkoff, senior author on the study and a Penn Integrates Knowledge professor with appointments in the genetics department of the Perelman School of Medicine and in the biology department of the School of Arts and Sciences. "I think our findings are telling us that the genetic basis of complex traits like height may be very different in globally diverse populations."
While hundreds of studies have sought and identified genes that play a role in height variations in European populations — nearly 180 such genes have been pinpointed -- this is the first genome-wide study of genes that contribute to stature in African Pygmy populations.
Original source: Science Codex
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